Rossendale Players review: Big Big Sky by Tom Wells is bursting with love
Love, loss and birdwatching combine seamlessly in a truly heartwarming tale ‘Big Big Sky’ on the stage of the Rossendale Players.
Tom Wells’ play takes place on a single set, a seaside cafe on the East Yorkshire coast, where a quartet of likeable characters gather over the course of a year where the cycle of life, death and re-birth unfold under that big big sky.
Players regular Martyn Frost takes the role of Dennis, a typical northern middle-aged man, full of humour and heart, but with a hidden vulnerability brought on by the premature death of his wife.
Dennis’ daughter Lauren, played perfectly by Players debutant Cate Berry, seems to fare better with that loss, and indeed proves to be a dependable emotional support to each of the characters – her dad, cafe colleague Angie and love interest Ed.
The role of Angie marks another debut performance for the Players in the form of Louise Parrish whose warm portrayal is a silhouette of Dennis, a working-class human navigating her own loss.
The quartet is completed by Players regular Nathaniel McCartney-Williams who brings his usual dose of warmth as the lovable, goofy but ultimately steadfast partner of Lauren, Ed.
Big Big Sky is a wonderfully touching, poignant and rewarding story which blends humour and all the shades of life and nature, friendship and family.
As ever, the set, whilst largely unchanging, works wonderfully under the directorship of Darren Brierley who guides the cast in a lovely mix of line-dancing, bird-watching and change – under that one roof, or sky.
Big Big Sky runs until Saturday, September 20th at the New Millennium Theatre, Waterfoot.